I have a B18C4 block with Integra Type R Pistsons and Rods and I want to give my bottom end a bit more strength in adding some ARP Rod bolts.

I have rebuilt my cyclinder head etc before so I have a good amount of mechanically understanding but I'm unsure about torquing the rod bolts up, are they supposed to be done using a micrometer or something? and I don't want it to affect my bearings etc either as I don't want to throw a bearing a week later

any advice on doing this?

 

Why would rod bolts be done with a micrometer? You want to use a stretch gauge if you're actually going to verify stretch, or you can use a torque wrench and torque to ARP's recommended value, which is usually gets you pretty close.

If you don't want to spin a rod bearing, have the rods resized. It's not hard, and it's not expensive at all.

 

Sorry I do not know why I said micrometer! I meant stretch gauge like you said.

I have a good torque wrench, would that be good enough to do that?

I should of stated that I have my full motor in the car, so I dont think I could resize the rods without a big cost, or am I wrong? (I'm still learning here)

Whats the pricing on resizing rods etc from your area?

Cheers,
Alan

 

Just found this from Team Integra....

At our shop it costs about $115 (including buying the bolts) to install arp bolts, resize and clean the rods and press on the pistons. (LS rods 8mm bolts)
For b16/GSR/ITR rods(9mm bolts) it costs about $30 more for the bolts.

 

Torque wrench will be fine.

Typically resizing rods will cost about $8-$10 per rod, plus rod bolts. Take the rods and pistons out, take the rings off, and take them to your local machine shop. Usually, you can hone the rod with the piston still attached, but pressing in and out the rod bolts may be a bit tricky, but it's definetly not impossible. Taking the rod and piston apart can do some damage to the piston. It's not uncommon for a cast piston to crack or even damage the pin boss when the pins are being pressed out.

Be sure to have a way of knowing which rings came out of which piston. You can take a piece of wood about 2 ft long and drill 4 screws evenly spaced apart respresenting each cylinder and hang the rings to their corresponding screw. Be sure to hang them in order (top, second, oil ring) and facing the right way so they don't go into the wrong groove or upside down.

 

what part of the rod actually gets resized out of interest? i thought arp bolts are drop in replacements?

 

The parts that the ARP's hold together; the big end housing. An upgraded rod bolt should produce a higher clamping force when torqued to spec, and that extra clamping force will typically distort the big end. To correct that, you cut a little bit off of each mating surfaces to reduce the diameter, and hone the bore back to spec.

 

I see, thanks for the info bud
So if people use arp's and do not do this, they are probably doing more harm than good I imagine?

I had assumed the torque was the same for standard bolts as it is for ARP's and hence 'clamping force' was the same also. I thought the main advantage of going arp was the fact they are less likely to stretch and hence fail with higher revs/power than stock bolts

 

Yea I'm dropping mine off today after work. $20 a rod ro shot-peen,press inbolts and resize.

 

I paid $30 for the LS rod bolts, and $80 for reconditioning.

Another $60 to R&R the pistons.

Make sure you measure you bearing clearance after the reconditioning.

 

i use a feeler gauge to do that right? i measure between the rod bearing and the journal surface that got resized?

 

No.

You need a bore gauge and a micrometer.

Most guys don't want to spend the money on tools and use Plasti-gauge which is better than not.

 

yea my machine shop has had my rods and rod bolts for a week now. I called yesterday to check on them and apparently when i gave him the rods and everything the rod caps got mixed up, so they are having trouble lining the bolts up with the big ends on the caps. So the machinist said they are gonna take a little longer, as they must take their time and make no mistake. However i did explain to guy that the caps are mixed up due to me removing the old rod bolts before i brought them in. He says, "No big deal we are gonna re hone them to spec anyways". But when i called he said that there is a certain course pattern or something? I just hope there isn't a major problem because i am running out of money as I am moving from Tallahassee to Tampa in 3 weeks and damn sure don't know where to get another set of p61 rods.

 

I hope you aren't going to attempt to build this engine yourself.

 

why is that? I have built a few in recent years to date. I am not building a race car or nothing just a simple oem rebuild, what is so hard/bad about that? Do you feel I am in capable of the job?

 

For one, you actually thought you should check bearing clearance with a feeler gauge, and two, you let the rods and caps get mixed up. I'm not saying you aren't capable, I'm saying you need to do a lot more research.

 

ouch.. i say give it a whirl.. if you mess up you know what you did wrong..

gotta learn by yourself sometime.. and i'd rather start sooner then later when i'm in a bind.. you kno what i mean?

 

That wasn't meant as an insult, just a suggestion.

When it comes to engines, it's a lot cheaper to learn something by researching it and doing it right the first time, rather than having to do it twice because you messed it up the first time.

 

i understand what your saying. Should i bring the Clevite bearings to the machine shop when i go to grab the rods so they can check the clearances for me? I am sorry for coming across as a dummy and/or wasting any ones' time. I do use try to use forums for help/research but nowadays you get bashed for not knowing as much as the next man. Thanks anyways Honda-tech.